Ventilating louver assembly



Dec. 6, 1960 L. MAGYAR VENTILATING LOUVER ASSEMBLY Filed Sept. 16, 1957:ihwws ww Unite 2,962,956 VENTILATING LOUVER ASSEMBLY Filed Sept. 16,1957, Ser. No. 684,147 6 claims. cl. 9s--'12i This invention relates toa louver assembly for closing an opening in the exterior wall of abuilding, such as a window opening or a door opening. While variousfeatures of the invention may be incorporated in the construction ofvarious louver assemblies for various specific purposes, the inventionhas special utility where permanent or constant direct ventilatingcommunication with the outside of a building is desired withoutincurring the penalties of using a simple conventional ventilatingopening.

One of these problems is to provide a wall opening for the passage ofair therethrough that will prevent drafts even when the wall opening issubjected to wind pressure. Another problem, in many. instances is toprovide a ventilating opening through a wall where. privacy for theoccupants is required. It is also a problem to provide a ventilatingopening in an exterior wall that will not only afford protection againstinclement weather but will also function effectively as a barrieragainst windblown dirt particles. A further problem is to' provide aventilating opening without freely admitting outside noise. It isfurther desirable in some installations to provide a ventilating openingthat has the appearance of solid wall structure and is of a pleasingappearance to serve as an ornamental addition to the wall.

The louver assembly of the present invention comprises a series ofvertically spaced generally horizontal louvers forming horizontalventilation passages. The louvers are constructed and arranged toprovide a numbe r or features which work together in various ways tomeet the above mentioned requirements;

The free passage of air through the wall opening without creating draftsis provided, in part, by making the ventilation passages narrow with thepassages directed upwardly towards the ceiling. In the preferredpractice of the invention, the inner ends of the ventilation passagesare more nearly vertical than horizontal. Avoidance of drafts isprovided, in further part, by making the ventilation passages of asmoothly curved crosssectional configuration that is conductive tolaminar flow in the ventilation air streams. The upwardly directedlaminar currents of air emerging from the louver assembly at the innerends of the ventilation passagesare rapidly dissipated in microturbulence within an inch or two of the louver assembly.

Where privacy is a requisite, it is merely necessary to make the louversopaque since the inclined ventilation passages are sufficiently tortuousto block lines'o'f sight therethrough. It is to be noted, however, thatthe louvers may be made of light-transmitting material in instanceswhere it is desirable for the louver assembly to serve as a window.

The inwardly and upwardly inclination of the ventilation passagesaffords protection against inclement weather. Since the ventilationpassages are narrow in width, relatively long in the direction of airflow, and tortuous in configuration, even wind-driven rain ems:

penetrated the louver assembly.

tates O Protection against ingress of airborne dirt particles isafforded by the fact that exterior air currents directed against thelouver assembly impinge on solid surfaces, there being no openingwhatsoever through the louver assembly in the direction of. approach ofoutdoor air currents. Air can pass through the louver assembly only bymaking an abrupt upward change in direction. Air.- borne particles thatare heavier than air are decelerated byin'rp'act against the louvers andall such. Particles that have settling velocities greater than thevelocity of upward airflow at the regions of impact will simply dropalong the outer side of the assembly. Only an insignificant portion ofthe exceedingly light airborne particles can reach the inner side of thelouver assembly.

Fortuitously, the described construction of the lower assembly has aninherent attenuating efiiect on sound waves. The tortuous configurationof the ventilation passages is one factor. The narrow dimensioning ofthe ventilation passages is another factor in the attenuating of sound.It is further helpful that all of the narrow vertical passages aredirected upwardly at a steep angle towards the ceiling instead of beingdirected across the interior of the building. In the preferred practiceof the invention, the deadening of sound is further favored by the useof relatively thick louvers of nonmetallic material and the use ofresilient rubber-like material to support the louvers in a yieldingmanner.

Further features of the preferred practice of the invention relate tothe simple economical structure of the louver assembly, thesimplification of the installation procedure and the durability of theassembly for long service life. The ends of the louvers are seated insockets formed in molded vertical support members of rubberlike materialand simple flanged metal strips serve to anchor the vertical supports tothe wall opening. The rubber-like material makes sealing contact withthe wall structure and also makes sealing contact with the ends of thelouvers.

A further and important advantage of the described construction is theflexibility of the louver assembly in that it maybe adjusted tocompensate for minor inaccuracies and dimensional variations. Therubber-like vertical supports readily conform to surface irregularitiesin the wall opening. The degree to which the ends of the louvers eirtendinto the sockets in the rubber-like vertical supports may be varied asrequired in accord with minor variations in the width of the wallopening. It is to be further noted that since the louver assembly is, inelfect, articulated at the junctures of the transverse louvers with therubber-like vertical supports, one end of the louver assembly may bereadily raised or lowered relative to the other end. By reason of thesecapabilities for adjustment, the louver assembly can compensate forminor dimensional inaccuracies and may be installed easily in a wallopening that is not accurately rectangular.

The various features and advantages of the invention will be apparent inthe following detailed description considered with the accompanyingdrawing.

In the drawing, which is to be regarded as merely illustrative:

Figure I is a pers ective view showing, by Way of example, how thelouver assembly of the invention may be employed in a relatively largeWall opening near floor used to anchor the vertical support members tothe wall structure;

Figure 4 is a transverse section of the structure shown in Figure 3,taken as indicated by the line 4--4 of Figure 3; and

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4 showing how the ends of thelouvers seat in the sockets.

Figure 1, illustrating a selected practice of the invention, shows theexterior wall of a building with a rectangular ventilation opening 12 inthe wall near the level of the floor 14 of a room. The opening 12 isclosed by a series of transverse louvers 15 that are closely spaced andgive the appearance of a solid wal panel. It is to be noted that theclosely spaced louvers give the wall opening an ornamental effect thatmay be enhanced in various ways. In this instance, for example, theornamental eifect is enhanced by a base strip 16 and by two flankingpictorial ornaments 18. Thus, permanent ventilation of the room space isachieved without detracting from the appearance of the wall.

The louvers 15 may be made of any suitable material but preferably aremade of nonmetallie material such as wood or a suitable plastic. It isalso to be noted that the louvers may be made of transparent ortranslucent material where the admission of light is desirable.

Each of the louvers 15 is relatively thick, being substantially thickerthan a sheet metal louver. Preferably the edge portions of the louversare somewhat reduced in thickness. Each of the louvers 15 is S-shaped orof sigmoid cross-sectional configuration with the upper edge portion ofthe louver turned outward towards the exterior of the building and thelower edge portion turned inward towards the interior of the building.All of the louvers 15 are inclined inwardly and upwardly with the upperportions of the louvers defining an interior vertical plane indicated bythe broken line 20 in Figure 2, and the lower portions of the louversdefining an exterior vertical plane indicated by the broken lines 22,the curvature of the louvers being tangential to these two planes.

In each pair of the successive louvers 15, the lower edge portion 24 ofthe upper louver overlaps the upper edge portion 25 of the lower louveron the exterior side of the lower louver and at relatively small spacingfrom the lower louver. With this arrangement, the successive louvers 15form upwardly inwardly directed ventilation passages 26, which passagesare relatively narrow in comparison to the thickness of the louvers.Preferably the inward curvature of the lower edge portion 24 of thelouver that forms the forward wall of each ventilation passage 26conforms to the curvature of the upper edge portion 25 of the louver onthe interior side of the passage so that each of the ventilationpassages is of substantially constant crosssectional dimensionthroughout the major portion of its length. By virtue of thisarrangement, each of the ventilation passages 26 is also of sigmoidcross-sectional configuration, the sigmoid curvature of the ventilationpassages being reversed with respect to the sigmoid curvature of thelouvers 15. As may be seen in Figure 2, the individual ventilationpassages 26 are tortuous to the extent that no line of sight may bedrawn through the passage from one side of the louver assembly to theother side.

The mid-portions of louvers 15 are at least approximately four times asthick as the thickness of the ventilation passages 26. By reason of thefact that the venti lation passages 26 are relatively narrow and thesigmoidal louvers 15 are relatively thick, there is a relatively wideand smoothly convergent entrance space 28 at the exterior end of eachventilation passage, these entrance spaces 28 converging inwardly in agradual manner from the exterior plane 22.

The arrows in Figure 2 indicate the general behavior .of the aircurrents that are involved when the exterior side of the louver assemblyis subjected to wind pressure. It will be noted that all of the aircurrents impinge on nails 42 or other suitable fasteners.

solid surfaces and are turned sharply thereby, so that solid particlesthat are heavier than air strike the solid surfaces and are therebydecelerated. The relatively heavy dirt particles strike the solidsurfaces of the louver assembly in regions of air flow velocities thatare relatively low in comparison to the velocities of the air streams inthe ventilation passages 26.

Wind blown particles of any substantial density are more likely than notto approach the louver assembly in a downwardly inclined direction andit is apparent that the overlapping of the louvers in the manner shownin Figure 2 effectively masks the ventilation passages from particlesthat approach in this manner. When the particles are stopped by thesolid surfaces of the louver assembly, only exceedingly light particleswith exceptionally slow settling rates are carried into the ventilationpassages.

Rain water droplets impinge on solid surfaces in the same manner. It isapparent that rain water will drip from louver to louver across theentrance spaces 28. Without encountering the air streams of relativelyhigh velocity at the ventilation passages 26.

As indicated by the arrows in Figure 2, the small narrow air streamsthat are discharged from the ventilation passages 26 are directedupwardly along the surfaces of the louvers on the interior or room sideof the louvers. It has been found by tests with smoke that these airstreams are dissipated by micro turbulence within a distance of one ortwo inches of the louver assembly.

Sound waves from the exterior of the building are attenuated by thelouver construction in the manner heretofore described.

The louvers 15 may be supported in their assembled positions in anysuitable manner. A feature of this particular practice of the inventionis the use of vertical end supports 30 in the form of molded strips ofrubberlike material having sockets 32 to seat the ends of the louvers15. As may be seen in Figure 3, the sockets 32, Which have inner endwalls 34, are of the same sigmoidal configuration as the louvers and, asmay be seen in Figure 4, the sockets have narrowed entrances. Theentrances to the sockets prior to the insertion of the louvers arenarrower than the width of the louvers to create a desirable resilientgripping action.

Any suitable means may be employed to anchor each of the verticalsupports 30 to the building wall 10. In the practice of the inventionillustrated by the drawing, a pair of angular metal strips 35 and 36 isemployed for this purpose. The metal strip 35 which is used on theinterior or room side of the louver assembly has an outer flange 38 toengage the vertical support 30 and has a base flange 40 for anchorage tothe building wall 10 by The base flange 40 extends behind the verticalsupport 30 and is concealed thereby when the louver assembly isinstalled. The second metal strip 36 has an outer flange 44 to engagethe vertical support 30 and has a base flange 45 for anchorage by nailsor the like 42, this base being turned outward and exposed at theexterior of the building.

The previously mentioned advantages of the described louverassembly withrespect to the compensation for dimensional inaccuracies are readilyapparent. The louvers 15 may be bonded in the sockets 32 by suitableadhesive material when the louver assembly is installed or, ifdesired,the louvers may be bonded in the sockets prior to installation.The louver assembly may be completely fabricated and shipped inassembled state. One advantage of the construction in this regard isthat the louver assembly is not likely to be damaged in shipment becausethe louvers are rugged and are yieldingly connected together by therubber supports 30. An important feature of the invention, however, isthat the louver assembly may be shipped in dismantled state for assemblyon the job, the dismantled louver assembly being exceptionally compact.

The use of the rubber-like supports 30 for the ends of the louvers 15 isespecially advantageous for installations where the louver assembly issubject to vibration. Vibration is a consideration, for example, whenthe louver as sembly is used on a vehicle.

My description in specific detail of the presently preferred practice ofthe invention will suggest various changes, substitutions and otherdepartures from my disclosure within the spirit and scope of theappended claims.

1. A ventilating louver assembly for an opening in an exterior wall of abuilding, comprising: a series of louvers of sigmoid cross sectionpositioned more nearly vertical than horizontal with their upper edgeportions curved outwardly and their'lower edge portions curved inwardly,said louvers being inclined with their upper portions defining an innerplane and their lower portions defining an outer plane at said opening,the lower edge portion of the upper louver of each pair of successivelouvers overlapping the upper edge portion of the lower louver of thepair on the outer side of said lower louver, said louvers being spacedapart with said overlapping edge portions forming a plurality ofvertically spaced inwardly upwardly directed transverse ventilationpassages of tortuous configuration blocking all lines of sight, saidlouvers being substantially greater in thickness than said passages witheach pair of the successive louvers forming a relatively wide convergententrance extending inwardly from said outer plane to the correspondingventilation passage, the cross-sectional curvature of the inwardlyturned lower edge portion of the upper louver of each of said pairs ofsuccessive louvers conforming substantially to the cross-sectionalcurvature of the corresponding outwardly turned upper edge portion ofthe lower louver of the pair with each of said ventilation passages ofsubstantially uniform width throughout a major portion of its length.

2. A ventilating louver assembly as set forth in claim 1 which includesvertical supports having vertically spaced sockets seating andcompletely surrounding the opposite ends of said louvers, the walls ofsaid sockets being made of resilient rubber-like material for yieldingsupport of the louvers.

3. A ventilating louver assembly as set forth in claim 2 in which saidvertical supports are one-piece molded members of rubber-like material.

4. A ventilating louver assembly as set forth in claim 3 in which theentrances to said sockets are narrower than the width of the louverswhereby said vertical supports yieldingly grip the ends of the louvers.

5. A ventilating louver assembly for an opening in an exterior wall of abuilding comprising: a series of louvers of sigmoid cross section withtheir upper edge portions curved outwardly and their lower edge portionscurved inwardly, said louvers being inclined with their upper portionsdefining an inner plane and their lower portions defining an outer planeat said opening, the lower edge portion of the upper louver of each pairof successive louvers overlapping the upper edge portion of the lowerlouver of the pair on the outer side of said lower louver, said louversbeing spaced apart whereby said overlapping edge portions form aplurality of spaced inwardly up wardly directed transverse ventilationpassages of tortuous configuration intermediate said planes; verticalmembers at the opposite ends of said series supporting andinterconnecting said louvers, said vertical support members being madeof rubber-like material and having sockets seating the ends of thelouvers in a yielding manner, said sockets being of less depth than thethickness of the vertical support members to cushion and seal the endsof the louvers; and vertically elongated retaining means engaging eachof said support members for anchorage of the support members in a wallopening.

6. A ventilating louver assembly for an opening in an exterior wall of abuilding, comprising: a series of louvers of sigmoid cross sectionpositioned more nearly vertical than horizontal with their upper edgeportions curved outwardly and their lower edge portions curved inwardly,said louvers being inclined with their upper portions defining an innerplane and their lower portionsdefining an outer plane at said opening,the lower edge portion of the upper louver of each pair of successivelouvers overlapping the upper edge portion of the lower louver of thepair on the outer side of said lower louver, said louvers being spacedapart with said overlapping edge portions forming a plurality ofvertically spaced inwardly upwardly directed transverse ventilationpassages of tortuous configuration blocking all lines of sight, saidventilation passages being of sigmoid cross-sectional configurationwvith the curvature thereof opposite to the curvature of the sigmoidcross-sectional configuration of the louvers, said louvers being atleast approximately four times as thick as the thickness of saidpassages with each pair of the successive louvers forming a relativelywide convergent entrance extending inwardly from said outer plane to thecorresponding ventilation passage.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,091,844 Holland Mar. 31, 1914 1,102,156 Kalb Dec. 14, 1937 2,216,420Rose Oct. 1, 1940 2,308,262 Beil Ian. 12, 1943 2,589,517 Stelzer Mar.18, 1952 2,842,042 Rose July 8, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 816,038 France July28, 1937

